It’s safe to assume most homeowners use the attic as nothing more than a storage room – a place to deposit all the junk that doesn’t fit anywhere else in the house. It can get messy, but there’s a lot of potential with the attic that we shouldn’t overlook.

Most attics have enough space to become their own room – a bedroom, study room, home office, you name it. And now that most people are spending more time at home due to the pandemic, that extra space is very much needed. All we have to do is give the space what it needs to show its true potential.

The most complex parts are setting up the insulation and drywall properly, which are necessary because attics tend to lose and gain heat very easily. This will ensure the space is as comfortable as it can be regardless of the season, along with being more receptive to heating and cooling systems as well.

So let’s take a look at how to turn your attic into an extra room. Take notes and enjoy the extra space!

“If you can dream it, you can do it. – Walt Disney

Setting up

If your attic is mostly empty, this won’t be more complicated than a thorough cleaning job to remove as much dust and debris as possible to facilitate the other parts of the project.

However, if you have been using your attic as a dumping ground for all sorts of junk, it’s time to go through everything and decide what stays and what goes. This might take a while, but it will be a tremendous quality of life improvement for your home in general.

Once the place is clean and tidy, you should check how to bring electricity to the attic.

It’s wise to already decide what will be the purpose of this room and which electrical devices will be turned on here, so that you can have a better grasp on your electrical wiring needs. And it’s important to figure this out first because the next steps already involve insulation and drywall, so it’s much easier to sort this out beforehand.

A local electrician can help you map out the wiring and help you decide how to do it all safely!

Insulation

Attics, due to their proximity to the roof, tend to lose and gain a lot of heat and cold very fast when not properly insulated. This causes the attic to be extremely uncomfortable to hang out in, but also compromises your home’s energy efficiency when an HVAC system is being used.

Long story short: attic insulation is essential even if you weren’t planning on using the room. But you are, so it’s even more important. You have to do this before installing the drywall, and an insulation company can get the job done easily and in a timely manner.

Drywall

We’re almost at the finish line now. The drywall will really bring a new feel to your attic, making it look like a proper room that is ready to be lived on. With all your electricity needs covered and the insulation installed, the drywall is the last step before we move on to the finishing touches.

The room is already usable without the drywall, but the exposed insulation makes it look rather unfinished and unappealing, especially since you can’t paint it in any way.

A drywall contractor will be of great help here. Depending on the size of your attic, the job can be completed in 48 hours or less.

Finishing touches

With all the complicated stuff out of the way, it’s time to add a little bit of personality into your new room. Before we start bringing in the furniture, let’s paint those walls, shall we?

Out of everything so far, this is probably the easiest part to do yourself. But as always, if you don’t have the time or the know-how and don’t feel like risking it, we highly recommend getting free quotes from a local painter.

And well, once the painting is taken care of, you’re basically free to move in! Bring the furniture, the decoration, the appliances – the attic is now an extra room and you should make it feel like home.

Enjoy!

The most important part of making your attic ready for a new life is proper insulation and drywall installation. Get free quotes for insulation and drywall provided by local contractors today!


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